By: BEA JEANNEL A. DELOS REYES
QUEZON CITY— Life can be very challenging for a naturally frail being like a woman and when life gets tough for a woman’s femininity and health, another Eba is there to help.
“I just wanted to help. I want my profession to be of use to provide help for the women who needs it but cannot afford it,” says Dr Melinda Cayabyab, an OB-GYN Oncologist.
Dr Cayabyab, the Chairman of OB-GYN department of the Quirino Memorial Medical Center and a GYN-Oncologist at St Lukes Medical Center here, has been devoting her services for free for the indigent Kapampangan women through the Provincial Government of Pampanga.
“Let’s face it, no poor family or woman can afford operations without any help. Usually it costs not less than P150,000 and I just don’t have a heart not to help my fellow women who needs my service,” says Cayabyab.
According to Cayabyab, during her visits here in Pampanga together with her two assistant doctors, she tends to 85 Kapampangan women with different cases for checkup and operation.
Dr Cayabyab started practicing OB-Gynecology in 1972 and Oncology in 1987.
Dr Cayabyab is also Governor Lilia Pineda’s OB-GYN as well as Pineda’s daughters since the 1990’s.
“From that time, I’ve already started helping out in the medical missions there in Pampanga. However, I started my regular service there not until 2009,” Cayabyab disclosed.
“I used to do my check-up for Kapampangans in my clinic here in Quirino Memorial Medical Center but then I saw how wearisome it is for the patients, coming back and forth to Manila and Pampanga in a jeepney so I decided to go to Pampanga instead,” told Cayabyab.
“Its really heartbreaking to encounter poor patients with cancer or serious problems with their private parts who reached the end stages of their illness and coming to you to ask for help and telling you they didn’t have money that’s why their cases aggravated and that their only hope is you. You know there not much you can do to save their lives but to only ease the pain they’re experiencing because its too late,” admitted Cayabyab.
According to her, this is the reason why she volunteers her time and expertise to avoid having more women go through that.
Cayabyab regularly gives her services for the Pampanga Capitol and does check-up on Tuesday mornings and Saturday mornings.
